After some time, young Foskar decided to test Elanor's knowledge in one of the ancient magic lessons.
– Master, may I ask a question?– Of course! Tell me, Foskar, what is it that troubles you?– Do you know anything about the spirit Xodeinos?...– Where did you hear that name of the ancient spirit?!– Well… some time ago, during the holidays, I went hunting with my sister… and we encountered some Onia…– I did hear something about that, indeed. But where did you hear the ancient name of Eskinthos?– I had to summon Eskinthos, otherwise we might not have survived…– You still haven't answered my question, boy!– Uh… I was tempted to learn more about this powerful shadow spirit that saved our lives with its spells, so I went to the Great Library of Knosaion, and there I discovered its real name…– I understand, Foskyr… despite my warnings, you always do as you please… You will do well to stop researching magical beings and focus on what we teach you at Ezami! Meddling with forces beyond your capability and comprehension will not end well for you. In the future, when you mature in the upper classes, we, your instructors, will teach you everything you must know about magical summoning—safely.
– I didn't bring this up by chance, Master. The reason I searched for the dark Eskinthos is because I heard some whispers when I summoned him…– What do you mean, what did you hear?!– I heard something similar to what I heard back then, with the Aether Sphere–
"I understand," Elanor replied, cutting him off before he finished his sentence.
– We will discuss this matter later, after the lesson, so we don't interrupt the rest of the class with your 'achievements'," he added sarcastically.– What, I'm staying inside again during break?!– That's how it is—should've been more careful! You will wait here during break so we can discuss this in private, and avoid burdening the entire class with your antics.
Time passed, and when the lesson ended, Elanor remained in the classroom with the young Adathos.
– I wasn't planning to tell you what I'm about to reveal, but circumstances have overtaken us, so it's unavoidable. I must explain some things so you understand the seriousness and danger of this magic. The whisper you heard in the Aether Sphere and during the summoning of the spirit is the same—the same source, not unrelated. As I've already taught you, summonings are magic of Aetheric origin, which is why not all mages are capable of calling them. And as you know, the stronger a spirit is, the more Aetheric capacity and magical force one needs to summon it. And because Xodeinos is one of the strongest and most ancient Aether spirits, that is why you may have heard that strange whisper again.
– But Master, why don't my classmates hear that sound, since they also have the ability to wield ancient magic?– Because the ability to hear this strange sound from Aetheric magic is extremely rare. Consider that most mages cannot even sense the cold it emits, nor see its silver-white glow.– Sir, do you hear the whisper when you summon a magical entity?– Not always. But whenever I happen to summon a powerful Aether spirit for an important purpose, then usually, yes—I can hear that whisper.– Do you only hear whispers, or anything else as well?– Anything else? What do you mean by that?– I'm asking in case there is something beyond whispers concerning this mysterious Aether magic.– No. Those three signs are the trademarks of ancient magic.
– In the library, Master, I read that in ancient times mages were more skilled at magical summonings, and that they could call them with greater ease and frequency than today. Is that true?– It is true. Indeed, in ancient times, mages were more capable and used ancient magic far more comfortably. We believe that this is because those were likely the first mages who, somehow, brought Aether magic into our world.– I also read that ancient mages developed some kind of connection with the spirits… what exactly did the book mean?– There is no need for you to seek things beyond what we teach you. What is certain is that many magical technologies, our ability to hide from the rest of the world in Knosaion, the sealing of the magical veil, and many other things are possible thanks to the sources of ancient magic. And that is why we teach you how to use this Aether magic—it is immensely useful. Yet we must also teach you the dangers it holds, so that you will wield it with wisdom…
– What dangers does it hide?– In time, you and your classmates who possess the talent to harness this aetherial magic will learn everything. What matters now is that you understand this: all mages who study the nature of the Aether have concluded that this magic—and the magical beings themselves—must originate from the same world. And since we know that when control over the spirits is lost, terrible things may happen, it follows that perhaps even the very nature of Aether magic itself harbors dangers of its own…
– Master, do these magical beings possess some kind of consciousness? And if so… what exactly do they want? Why do they bring calamities and death when they slip out of control?– There is no known knowledge in our kingdom that confirms this. But if you consider that they try to escape the control of the mage who summons them, then logically, yes—this implies they do possess some form of consciousness.
Foskar discussed all these matters with Elanor, and once he confirmed for himself that not even the wisest of the elves truly understood the nature of the Aether or the ability of magical beings to communicate, he bid his teacher farewell and went out for the break.
Thus, Nophoivos continued to summon Eskinthos mentally from time to time, just as the spirit had asked of him—and in exchange, the dark entity granted him knowledge of spells he would never find in any magical library or in his school.
At one point, Nophoivos asked Eskinthos during one of their conversations why the shadow spirit wished to be summoned daily. The magical creature replied:
– In our world—the world of spirits—there is absolute cold, frost… Whenever you summon me, I come into your world, and while I am here, I can escape that cold. You already know that Aether magic, which comes from our world, emits a chilling aura… do you not?– Indeed, it is a natural trait of ancient magic… now I understand…– In our realm, ancient magic is abundant, and its aura brings complete and unbearable cold across our dimension, as you can imagine…
The young mage had now begun to understand much more about the nature of the Aether and magical beings. And with Xodeinos' help, he had become quite skilled in the summoning of monsters. His spiritual strength had increased so greatly that he could now perform mental summonings with Xodeinos for hours without tiring at all. A result of all this was the development of a kind of friendship between Eskinthos and the young wizard, who spent long hours in telepathic conversations, during which Nophoivos learned countless things about magic.
Meanwhile, Foskar continued to astonish his teachers at school, who admired him deeply for his abilities and knowledge. His improvement in every field—both theoretical and practical—was undeniable, and the young mage enjoyed the praise of both classmates and instructors. Thus, yet another year at Ezami ended with great success for him, and at last, the summer holidays began again.
At home, his parents were equally proud of him, for he was both a model student at Ezami and a gifted mage. To congratulate him, Oxydar bought him a magical broomstick as a gift at the end of the school year. Nophoivos thanked his father, climbed onto the broom with excitement, and immediately soared into the sky to test it. From that day onward, Foskar wasted no opportunity to fly with his magical broom, eventually achieving exceptional skill in aerial magic.
Meanwhile, for the rest of the world outside Knosaion, things were going from bad to worse. The Onia had greatly increased their numbers on the island of Sikelia, and as if that weren't enough, they were now launching frequent attacks against the allied forces stationed on the isle of Dora, where the celestial rift was located. Consequently, they repeatedly hindered the allies from successfully safeguarding the rift from the constant Onia invasions, which had become more frequent than ever. The fairies had clearly shifted into full counterattack, and the situation across the world had grown dire.
The fairies now launched assaults in many locations across the planet, leaving the allies uncertain which region to defend first. The Onia were clearly searching for something—and perhaps seeking to disperse and confuse the allied forces in order to eventually overwhelm those guarding the magical rift. The allies were nearly in despair, as it seemed that with each passing day the Onia grew stronger, and the magical veil slipped further out of control.
Their only hope was somehow finding the mythical kingdom of the elves. They continued sending scouting parties into the forests of Donidos, believing that the elves were the one force capable of offering meaningful help against the fairies. The Onia too sought the elves—though with the intent of exterminating what they believed to be their final potential enemy. Thus, within the elven forests, bloody battles frequently took place between the Onia and the allies, both desperately searching for any clue that might reveal the hidden elven kingdom.
However, the elves had long withdrawn their patrols from the forests and simply remained hidden within the safety of Knoaeon. Most elves believed it was wiser to stay concealed and merely observe events without taking part. On the contrary, some more sensitive elves could not bear to watch the other races of the world suffer from the brutalities of the Ónia and suggested intervening before things became even worse. Nevertheless, in every council they always ended up remaining faithful to their original plan: only if their kingdom was endangered and exposed would they then take active part in the war.
The young Foskir knew all of this, since his father—who was a commander in the royal army of Knoaeon—kept them informed of these events. Whenever this subject came up at home, Fóskar always became irritated, believing that the elves should not hide like cowards and leave the rest of the world at the mercy of the Ónia.
"My son, things are far more complicated than you imagine. If we truly had the power and means to defeat the Ónia, be certain that Knoaeon would not sit idle. The Ónia are immensely powerful beings. Consider that the Ónia you have encountered so far were merely their scouting units, not a true force of their legions. Had you faced the higher magical classes of the Ónia, you and your sister would be dead by now."
Though Foskir disagreed, he said nothing and left silently for his room. Immediately he summoned Xódeinos, deciding to learn more about the Ónia by asking the shadow spirit. Yes—Foskir thought—Xódeinos, being such an ancient spirit of magic, must certainly know more about these dreadful Ónia that invade Earth and bring destruction and death. Thus, when he reached his room, he called the dark spirit telepathically to learn anything useful about the Ónia.
"Greetings, Eskeinthos. I would like to ask if you know anything at all concerning the beings the elves call Ónia."
"I knew you would ask me this question sooner or later…"
"Tell me! Do you know anything about these magical beings?"
"The Ónia, my young friend, are ancient beings, originating from an age long before these modern races now inhabiting your planet appeared…"
"But if they once lived here normally on our planet, why do they now come to us from a different dimension?"
"It is a long story, but I will tell you briefly: in the very old times, the Ónia ruled over the entire planet. They oppressed all other races. But one day, all the races of that era rose up against them and managed to imprison them in another world, far from the dimension of Earth."
"Which races were these that managed to defeat the Ónia? Do they still exist or have they vanished?"
"The races that defeated them were seven. The race of the dwarves, the goblins, the Vivants, the Sentochires, the Skodita, your race—the humans—and, of course, the mighty elves."
"The Vivants?! What race is that?"
"The Vivants were the ancient ancestors of today's Giants, who have now completely lost their magical powers. As has happened to all modern races, whose magic is but a faint echo of their ancestors' power in the ancient days… Once, magic was abundant, and all races possessed great magical talent, unlike today where it exists in fewer and fewer races and magi."
"Yes, our teacher Elanor told us something similar… I remember now…"
"In ancient times it was rare for someone not to possess mana. Imagine that the human race once held magic throughout almost its entire population, unlike today where only a handful possess it… even among elves there are many who do not possess enough mana."
"And why is that?"
"Ever since the Ónia were exiled from Earth, magic began to diminish greatly. And so, from being widespread among all races, it slowly began to vanish, remaining only in fewer descendants as the centuries passed…"
"What is the reason magic is drying up from our world?"
"There is no clear answer… but you must know that magic chooses in which magi and races it manifests. And an important reason is the fact that a great amount of aether-magic is spent on sealing the magical Veil, which keeps the Ónia away from your world…"
"I've heard something about it, but what exactly is this magical Veil?"
"The Veil was created by the seven races that defeated the Ónia. However, it must be resealed every three thousand years, as it develops cracks for certain reasons, and thus aether-magic is consumed—as you know."
"So it just happened that in our era the three thousand years have passed since the last sealing, and now the Ónia find the opportunity to escape through the cracks of the Veil and invade our world?"
"Exactly… The only way to stop them is if they manage to seal the Veil again. Otherwise, the future of your world is bleak…"
"Then why don't they seal it like before?"
"You are not paying attention, and that is why you're confused, Nófivos… Think, young mage…"
"There is no more aether-magic left, and they can't seal it?"
"Precisely. And that is also the main reason why gifted magi who can harness ancient magic are so few—and constantly decreasing. Because every so often a massive amount of ancient magic is consumed to keep the Veil sealed, resulting in its disappearance from your planet."
"I see… Now I'm beginning to understand things more clearly. So, Eskeinthos, the people of this world don't have enough ancient magic to seal the Veil?"
"That is something best asked of your elf friends, who hide safely in their city doing nothing…"
"What do you mean, Xódeinos? Answer me! Tell me what you know!"
But the dark spirit offered no further explanation, leaving the young mage puzzled.
In the days that followed, Foskar wasted no time. He spent many hours in the great library of Knoaeon searching for historical and mythological texts about the planet's races. Thus, Foskar managed to learn much about the Earth's races—including the ancient ones. Among the many books he searched through, he found an ancient myth that spoke of seven siblings who, thousands of years ago, defeated and imprisoned far from Earth a terrible dragon. The young mage immediately realized that this strange myth must refer to the feat of the seven ancient races that had long ago defeated and banished the Ónia.
Nevertheless, the young mage felt a strange sensation, as if something about the myth was familiar. It stirred some kind of memory within him, though he could not recall it clearly. So he decided to return home and discuss the myth with his parents and sister, to see if they knew anything more. Indeed, his parents explained that according to tradition and mythology, all races once united to crush the Ónia, who had tyrannized the entire planet.
Thus, later Foskir learned from Enali and his mother about the sacred duty the elven race had undertaken.
"It is normally the duty of our race to reseal the magical Veil whenever it develops cracks, yet there are certain problems now."
"What kind of problem, Enali?"
"I am not the right person to reveal this information to you, Foskar. But what I can tell you is that, at least for now, our race is unable to seal the Veil of the Ónia."
"So you elves will simply leave the rest of the world helpless at the mercy of the fairies?"
"I know, my brother, that this sounds harsh to you. Yet the rest of the world has proven time and again, through the ages, that it does not deserve our help or our cooperation in any domain. Thus, they must manage on their own against the Ónia… although, even so, perhaps in the future Knosaeon's neutral stance may change, and we might assist in some way in this war."
"I cannot understand how you elves can be so wise and advanced in magic and culture, and at the same time so cold and stubborn. I'm going to my room to calm down and think about what my future will be like as the last human in the world…"
His parents and sister said nothing, for they understood him; they too felt he had every right to be angered by Knosaeon's stance, since it was indeed cruel for the elves not to help the rest of the world—especially his own people, the humans.
Thus, when Foskir returned to his room, he telepathically summoned Xódeinos and discussed with him everything he had learned in the library, as well as what he had spoken about with his parents a little earlier.
"It seems, my friend, that perhaps you shouldn't trust the elves so much—with their magnificent culture and terrifying love of secrecy… They hide the truth from you, and they hide themselves from the entire world in such a difficult and critical moment."
"You may be right. After all, in matters of magical summoning they do not seem to have full understanding of how it truly works. Perhaps they genuinely do not know… yet on the other hand, maybe they intentionally want to hide the truth from me, so that I won't learn about the magical Veil and many other things. You see, I myself am not truly an elf, even if they raised me as one of their own. Maybe they don't fully trust me…"
In the days that followed, he conversed more and more often with the shadow spirit telepathically, and the two developed an increasingly friendly bond. And so, with every new spell Foskir learned from Xódeinos, he would go more frequently to the remote spring in the grove to attempt and practice them away from prying eyes.
This time as well, he was in that secluded place, training in various spells such as rostanī etýs, rizard sihárr, protéliga, and others. However, he was suddenly interrupted by the dark spirit, who warned him that two humans were nearby—deeper in the forest.
"They are two of your own race, and they are in danger. They certainly need your help, for they have fallen into an ambush of fairies. I thought you would want to save them from the Ónia, which is why I mentioned it."
"What business did they have here, in elven lands?"
"What you imagine… they are searching for the mythical city of Knosaeon, and stumbled upon the fairies, who obviously came here for the same reason."
The dark-haired boy answered Xódeinos: "I understand… lead me to them quickly—there's no time to lose!"
Foskar immediately mounted his magical broomstick, and under the demon's guidance, he flew straight to the place where the Ónia were clashing with the humans. From the air, he began firing spells at the Ónia from afar. And once he had drawn their attention, he landed swiftly on the ground, with the shadow demon following closely behind to shield him from the fairies' hostile spells.
The two human magi had been completely surrounded and were moments away from being overwhelmed by the Ónia, but now hope returned to them as they saw the dark-haired boy and the shadow spirit fighting the fairies with confidence and style.
Foskar managed to freeze an Ónio with the form of a deer, and Eskeinth—who was targeted by a vomvarda spell—absorbed it by opening a black vortex before him; almost simultaneously, another black opening appeared behind the Ónia. The redirected vomvarda shot out of the dark rift and blew apart two Ónia, who died before they even understood what had happened.
Encouraged, the two humans began casting curses against the beast-like creatures that hunted them. The fairies, on the other hand, focused mainly on the shadow entity, but Xódeinos shrouded himself in a black cloud, hiding within it and unleashing spell after spell at the Ónia, who couldn't even see where the attacks came from.
Thus, they turned their attention to the young mage who commanded the shadow demon. But Foskir had been improving rapidly, and he was now a capable and skillful mage himself. First he deflected several curses with protector, and then, using his newly learned spell of dark aura, he avoided most enemy attacks.
This spell was extremely useful—it allowed him to transform into a black mist and move through it at tremendous speed, evading almost anything. By mastering this new technique, the young mage became a difficult target for the Ónia, while simultaneously confusing them, since they never knew from where he would strike next.
Even Foskir himself was astonished by how much he had improved as a mage under Xódeinos' guidance. Thus, he continued spreading panic among the fairies, hammering them with his new spells.
At the same time, the fairies were in no way lacking in magical skill. They too would sometimes transform into bright flashes of light, allowing them to evade opposing spells. In this luminous form they could fly with great speed, and because of their small size they became difficult targets—though their spells were weaker in that diminished form. Thus, they frequently shifted between bright light and the anthropomorphic forms of various animals, depending on the circumstances.
Meanwhile, one of the Ónia summoned the legendary demon Elrev, who launched fierce fire attacks and put Fóskar and his group in serious danger. The young mage, initially stunned by the terrifying sight of the dragon, and the two humans immediately activated magical shields to protect themselves from the flames. Eskynthos, on the other hand, without wasting a moment, cast megaphos and temporarily blinded Elrev with a massive, blinding flash right in front of the dragon's face.
At the same time, one of the three Ónia managed, amidst the chaos, to fatally strike one of the two mages by hurling a huge boulder at him with great force, crushing him. Seeing his friend killed, the other mage summoned a lion-shaped beast and sent it straight toward the fairy that had thrown the boulder. The goat-shaped Ónio had no time to defend itself, and so it fell dead as the lion seized it by the throat and strangled it.
Elrev, meanwhile, had taken many hits while blind and unable to defend himself, but he still endured and had now regained his sight. With a blast of scorching lava from his mouth, he burned the stone-lion beast to ashes. Xodeinós and the remaining mage began striking the dragon with water spells, but they caused too little harm. Thus Fóskar attempted a stronger form of magic, conjuring a whirlwind directly atop Elrev. This inflicted serious damage and trouble upon the demon, who struggled to escape the raging cyclone.
Seeing an opening, Xodeinós and the human targeted the fairy controlling the dragon, hoping that by defeating her, Elrev would vanish as well. But the fairy created a large wooden shield and successfully blocked their spells. The other Ónio attempted to kill Fóskar, but Xodeinós swiftly concealed his young master with the spell mapela. Now hidden behind a magical veil, Fóskar manipulated the whirlwind from safety, sending it bouncing from one Ónio to another like a ping-pong ball.
As a result, one of the fairies fell dead. The remaining Ónio controlling Elrev hurled a wave of magical blades at Fóskar, but the young mage reacted just in time and cast myvox. Fóskar switched places with the Ónio, so the creature suddenly found itself struck by its own magical blades. However, myvox required the mage to relinquish control of one of his beasts, which meant the fairy now gained control over Xodeinós. The shadow-spirit barely saved the startled Ónio from immediate death.
Yet the young mage had been cunning: he had calculated that even if the Ónio somehow avoided the blades, it would likely collapse under the enormous mental strain of controlling both Elrev and Eskynthos—thus allowing its own beasts to destroy it. However, the clever plan failed, for the Ónio proved strong enough to control both powerful creatures at once. It turned both beasts against the remaining human mage, eliminating him with ease.
Thus Nófivos now stood alone against the fairy and the two powerful magical beasts. Fóskar realized that if he didn't soon devise something intelligent, he too would fall dead like the others. Thankfully, he remembered one of the strongest spells Xodeinós had confided in him. Using this ancient incantation, álakar, he managed to steal Eskynthos and bring the beast once more under his control. This age-old magic required the mage to sacrifice nearly half his spiritual endurance, but allowed him to seize any magical creature during battle.
Naturally, Fóskar chose Eskynthos—he was already mentally exhausted, and Elrev lacked the same mental link Fóskar shared with Xodeinós. Moreover, Elrev seemed by far the superior demon, so it was expected that he would dominate the shadow-spirit. Now the duel was at least two against two, though the Ónio and Elreiv still appeared far fresher and stronger than the young, inexperienced mage.
Fóskar sent Eskynthos directly at the fairy, hoping to defeat her and end the battle instantly, while he himself struggled against the fire demon. However, the animal-shaped Ónio proved a worthy opponent for Xodeinós, and with each passing moment, it became more likely that Fóskar would be slain by Elrev. Just as despair began to overwhelm him, Eskynthos spoke telepathically: he told Fóskar to cast the spell megamops on the dragon Elrev. Without hesitation, the dark-haired mage performed the spell—and suddenly the legendary creature began spewing fire uncontrollably in all directions.
The reason was simple: megamops doubled Elrev's power, causing the Ónio to lose dominion over the fire-dragon. With the fire spirit's power skyrocketing, it became impossible even for the Ónio to control him. In one sudden moment, the fierce dragon turned against his master. Fóskar immediately mounted his magical broomstick and fled the battlefield before it was too late. From above he watched the Ónio struggle desperately against the demon—until Elreiv burned him to death.
It was around nine o'clock, and the young mage flew back toward Knosaeon as dusk fell. On the way, he wondered what he would tell the elves if they saw him, for he knew that leaving Knosaeon without adult supervision was forbidden for minors. Still, he couldn't have abandoned the endangered mages, so he had taken the risk. Fortunately, on his return he avoided the patrols and slipped home unnoticed.